


rekindled

by dogsnack



Category: Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-29
Updated: 2019-01-16
Packaged: 2019-03-10 22:49:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13511370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dogsnack/pseuds/dogsnack
Summary: His work was perfect; he knew that. His designs functioned, his discoveries were leagues ahead of that of his lab mates, and his name would undoubtedly find its place in history.So why did he still feel like slag?





	1. Chapter 1

It had been a rough night.

Starscream’s pedes dragged against the cold, pristine floors; each step producing a dull echo in the empty hallways. His wings stood tall, perfect and poised to the untrained eye, with a tenseness so often attributed to the seeker that it became ordinary. His optics were downcast, the deep crimson critical and unseeing as he made his way back to his quarters.

His work was perfect; he knew that. His designs functioned, his discoveries were leagues ahead of that of his lab mates, and his name would undoubtedly find its place in history.

So why did he still feel like slag?

Starscream huffed, hand coming up to pinch the bridge of his nose. It was an endless cycle it seemed.

In the lab he was focused, his mind reworking experiments and creating hypothesis’s. He had questions and knew how to get the answers. Yet, once he left his workstation, it all came crashing down. Without the humming and churring of machines and the familiarity of a datapad in his hands, he was lost. His mind wandered. With nothing else to examine, his constantly criticizing gaze turned inward to himself.

He knew he was intelligent. He knew he was successful. He just didn’t _feel_ that way.

Starscream’s engine gave a high-pitched whine as he abruptly turned down a different corridor; he needed to get some air.

He marched his way to one of the outer halls, a terrace-like structure overlooking the bumbling city below. Servos gripping the guardrail, he let out another heavy outvent and let his optics flicker off.

Against all reason he felt… he felt _inferior_.

With the size of his accomplishments, the praise returned was nothing comparable. He wasn’t liked very much by his peers, he knew that. Pit, the feeling was mutual. Yet, with every successful experiment, he still felt – something – when the acknowledgment was little to none. He tried and he tried _,_ yet no matter what he did, it never seemed to be good enough. It was simply _expected_.

“Why do I even care?” He muttered with the breath of a snarl, onlining his optics and resting his head dejectedly on a closed fist.

“Care about what?”

Flinching, Starscream schooled his features out of their solemn positioning and plastered on a bored look as he turned to face the newcomer.

“Why, none of your slagging-“ Starscream cut himself off with a sharp huff, placing a hand on his hip as he gave the other a once over. “Oh, I thought it was somebody important.” He drawled, lifting a servo and nonchalantly inspecting his pristine claws.

“Is that how you speak to important mechs?” Skyfire asked, a fond smile gracing the shuttles faceplates as he neared the seeker.

“Only the ones I don’t like.”

“So, all of them, then?”

Starscream snorted and rolled his optics, pushing off the guardrail and meeting the other halfway. Laying a servo on Skyfires’ chestplate and resting his helm against the glass with a soft ‘clink’, he interlaced his servos with the shuttles and offlined his optics. Skyfires smiled dimmed as he gently placed a servo on the seekers wing and leaned down to press his lips to the top of the others helm.

He knew about the other flier’s troubles. Even though Starscream did his damnedest to hide it, the shuttle could see how the alienation from the rest of his peers ached with each of the seekers movements. He remembered how the seeker used to be when he left the labs: optics shining with the vision of a new idea, wings beating happily to the thrum of his spark, his mind creating worlds and theories too big for even himself, all-consuming and boisterous, the death of a star and the birth of the universe – all at once.

But now? That light was gone.

Holding the jet in his arms right now, Skyfire ached for what was lost in his partners optics. The vibrancy and ambition that perked his wings up for reasons other than disguising his dejection.

Tightening his half-hug on the other, Skyfire gave a small sigh.

“Keep thinking so hard and you’re going to fry your processor.”

Straightening back up, Skyfire looked down at Starscream; the seeker turning his helm up to give the shuttle a deadpan look that said he knew where the others mind was wandering.

“Well,” Skyfire started, forcing a smile to return to his faceplates. “We can’t have that happening, now can we?”

“Nope.” Starscream responded, popping the ‘p’ as he wiggled out of the shuttles embrace. “After all,” He smirked up at Skyfire. “It’s about all you’ve got going for you.”

Skyfire rolled his optics and huffed as the seeker patted his arm and stalked past him towards the terraces exit.

“Come on, it’s getting late and I’ve got some datapads for you to proofread before we recharge.” He called over his shoulder as he left the room.

Skyfire watched him go. While his sparked ached, filled with memories of what they used to have, he still felt hopeful that something new could be made. They could find that light again. Through trial and error, they would find themselves again, and together they would outshine the sun.

Taking one last glance outside the terrace window at the colorful city lights below, Skyfire followed suit.


	2. Chapter 2

The walk back to their shared quarters was awkward to say the least.

Starscream’s field was pulled in tight and, though the seeker still held a stony smirk, the fact that he was deep in thought didn’t pass by the shuttle unnoticed. Skyfire was beginning to feel jittery; he never knew how to deal with the other when he entered these kinds of moods. He knew that sarcasm was the jet’s weapon of choice when it came to deflecting questions he didn’t want to answer, but Skyfire just didn’t know how to bypass such responses.

So, they walked in silence. Heavy, awkward silence.

Once upon a time, Skyfire would have cherished moments such as these: moments that were quiet and calm, spent alongside the one that he loved. Now? At _this_ particular moment? Primus – if the stillness was a gun, then every step was another bullet in the chamber.

When they finally reached their habsuite, it was both a blessing and a curse.

Starscream swiftly keyed in the unlock code and stepped inside, the shuttle wading in behind him and stopping just at the entrance. Lifting a servo to rub his neck, Skyfire watched as his partner glided to their shared desk space and picked up a data pad: its screen lighting up blue as it was onlined. With a soft chuff, the seeker dropped into the desk chair and turned it so that his back faced Skyfire.

The soft ‘whoosh’ of the door sliding closed resembled the fall of a guillotine.

Dropping his hand back to his side, Skyfire took a hesitant step towards the seeker. Lifting his hands, palms up, the shuttle tried to project an air of understanding and acceptance through his EM field before speaking.

“Starscream,” started Skyfire. “I think we need to- “

“Actually,” The jet cut in, “I _don’t_ think we need to. I’m busy.” He vaguely waved a taloned servo towards the door. “If you want to play therapist, I hear there’s a copter down the corridor with _quite_ the eccentricities – maybe you should give him a call?”

“ _See_?” Skyfire huffed, his wings giving a sharp flick.

Moving in towards his partner and turning the chair around so that they were face to face, he leaned forward until blue optics met blazing crimson. “ _This_ is what we need to talk about!” Kneeling down on one knee, the shuttle gently took the datapad from Starscream’s hands and placed it on the floor before replacing it with his own servos. “This dismissal! This _lack of honest communication_! We’re partners, Starscream – you can depend on me!”

“Well, I shouldn’t _need to depend on you_!” Snarled the seeker, jerking his hands back to his chest and spinning the chair around with a sharp kick to the floor. The jets EM field buzzed angrily against Skyfire’s own, but the usually tranquil mech’s patience was bubbling over.

“What are you even talking about?” Gripping the chairs armrest, he spun it back around; the exasperated groan of the jet coupled with his dramatic slouch telling Skyfire he was on his way to winning this battle. “Starscream – this is about your labmates, right?”

“You wouldn’t understand.” Starscream muttered with a growl of his engine, turning his head to the side to avoid the larger mech’s gaze.

“Oh, don’t even start – “

“You wouldn’t!” The seeker surged up from his seat, forcing Skyfire to lean back and look up at the simmering jet. “They love you! It doesn’t matter what you do – _they love you_!” Starscream’s wings vibrated with the attempted containment of his anger and his field was a whirlwind of negativity that felt almost tangible.

“I could find the cure for every disease on this planet and they’d still find a reason to hate me! I’m so sick of it!” He stormed past Skyfire and began pacing around the room, his arms waving around in exasperation. His optics burned bright and the thrusters on his heels glowed red as small flames began to lick at the flooring.

Skyfire watched on as the tricolored jet raved about his fellow scientists, the shuttle slowly rising up from his crouched position only after his partners fourth time pacing from one side of the room to the other.

“I’m so damn _sick_ of this place!” Starscream kicked the wall with one last yell, the dent leaving a shallow mark of his fury.

There were a few minutes of silence, filled with nothing but Starscream’s rapid vents and whirring engine as he worked to finally calm down after his bout, before Skyfire finally got the nerve to speak.

“Let’s leave, then.”

Starscream stilled a moment before turning around and fixing the mech with a confused gaze.

“… What?” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> mmmmm i didnt like this one v much b its the thought that counts


	3. Chapter 3

Skyfire stepped forward.

 

“Let’s leave, Starscream.” He said again, reaching out and cradling the seekers blue servos. 

“I- I know you’ve got your projects and your reputation and you’ll see it as some kind of retreat or failure but-“

The shuttle paused to regroup himself. 

“There’s still openings for the interplanetary explorations.”

“Skyfire, we can’t just-“

“We just sign up and soon we’re gone, Star. Hell – they’ll probably expedite the process to get us out of here! But we can do it, Starscream. Just you and me and space and – and –“ 

“Skyfire - ” 

“I just want you to be happy.”

Both fliers vents stalled.

Skyfires grip was almost tangibly desperate; as silence filled the room the shuttle seemed a fraction of his size. His wings laid low and his blue optics were shuttered.

The sight alone made Starscream’s spark ache.

He’d listened in astonishment as the shuttle stumbled through his speech. The usually sturdy and gentle mech was torn open like a wound. His EM field fluctuated wildly; a hesitant yet strong wave, reaching out and pulling in. Starscream was left drowning in the feeling and Primus, he hadn’t realized how deep he’d flown in.

The moment Skyfire started speaking, Starscream was preparing to shoot him down. He didn’t work so damn hard so damn long to just up and leave; and his partner clearly knew that. But, right now - looking at the only mech that saw someone worth caring for in Starscream – he couldn’t do it. Couldn’t honestly say he’d rather stay and be bitter and alone. 

Primus below – he loved this damn mech. 

He loved this mech and he’d see all of Iacon burned to the ground before he saw his partner look as torn up as he now did.

Starscream pulled his servos from Skyfire’s grasp just to latch them onto the shuttle’s helm and pull him close. Their lips pressed firmly together and his EM field poured adoration out into every corner of their habsuite. 

Skyfire was left awed with the seekers intensity. His large servos found their home wrapped around Starscream’s frame and keeping him close. His faceplates were flushed with warmth and he didn’t know whether he was about to laugh or cry.

When they parted, Skyfire knew it was both.

“Does this mean- “

“What do you think?” Starscream muttered, no heat but that of love in his tone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> little snip bc classes r starting & i wanted to start writing again !!!!
> 
> miiight be more who knows !!

**Author's Note:**

> skefjshef this is. my first fanfiction b i love these science boys


End file.
